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Hamilton 250 watt 14K MH bulbs

July 19, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Hamilton 250 watt, 14000k metal halide bulbs.

Test bed:

My 90 gallon reef tank, heavily skimmed, bare bottom, 24″ deep with a PFO ballast.

The good:

I bought a pair of Hamilton bulbs to replace some aging bulbs on my 90 gallon reef tank in September of 2009.  After the burn in, the bulbs produced a crisp white/blue color.  The green and orange colored corals had a nice glow under these bulbs and the brown and beige corals looked more detailed.  It also made the water look very clear and even though the organic waste in the tank was somewhat high, the tank did not look yellow.

The coraline algae grew like gangbusters.  I had more sheeting coraline algae growing than ever before.  It was covering my all of my live rock, the bottom glass and even my pumps have what looks like shelves of algae growing on them.  The coraline algae started to grow within a few weeks of installing these bulbs.

The bad:

For the first six months, the corals were opening fully but there was little or no growth.   Between the six and nine month mark the corals started to shrink in size to almost half or less.  The number of bright green and orange mushroom corals dwindled and the few that are left shrunk from silver dollar size to between quarter and nickel size and they no longer open up.  Since using these bulbs, again around the six month mark, an outbreak of aiptasia started.  I never had aiptasia in this tank before but suddenly I did then although I am willing to guess that the aiptasia was just coincidence and cannot be certain that these bulbs are what caused it.

Conclusion:

For a fish only tank with live rock or very low light corals, these bulbs would be perfect as long as they are replaced around the six month mark.  For a reef tank with soft corals that is 24 inches deep, I would not suggest using these bulbs.  Even though they look great, they do not have enough intensity to support the less light demanding corals that I have been keeping for the last couple years.  They are much crisper than the 20kk bulbs that I have used in the past but they just aren’t working the way I had hoped.

Overall:

Great looking, awesome coraline growth, short lifespan and not enough intensity to support coral growth.

Filed Under: Other reef

Toadstool Coral

July 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Common Name: Toadstool (Mushroom Leather or Umbrella)
Scientific Name: Sarcophyton
Size: Between 6 – 10″ tall and 3 – 12″ in diameter.  The largest I have kept was near 6″ in diameter.
Origin: Indo-Pacific
Natural Habitat: Normally associates with hosts such as anemones. They will also take up residence in leather corals, Xenia and Goniopora. Can be territorial at times with other fish and their own species. It is not uncommon for these fish to reproduce in captivity.
Feeding Requirements: Various foods accepted: live & frozen brine shrimp, flake foods and other meaty type foods readily accepted.  They have lived, almost exclusively, since 1998 on flake food with brine shrimp or other frozen food as a treat once every few months.
Difficulty Rating:
(1 = easy – 5 = hard)		 1 – Very hardy. Great beginner’s fish.
Aggressiveness Rating:
(1 = shy – 5 = nasty)		 2 – Can be territorial and fight among their own species and other fish but usually cause no harm. They are protective of their own piece of reef and will protect it forcefully when a clutch of eggs are present.  I do not recommend adding them with other types of Clownfish.
Captive Requirements: Temperature range: 76 – 82° F. Specific gravity: 1.023-1.026. Can be kept singly, in pairs or in groups. I do not recommend adding additional Clownfish, of the same type, to the mix after the initial group is added to the tank. Does not require an anemone or surrogate host to thrive. Sheltered areas are not required but welcomed. Easily adapts to poor or degrading water quality, but this is not recommended for any fish.
Optional Requirements: Although not required these fish have been known to live in the safety of the Stichodactyla haddoni anemone, Stichodactyla gigantea anemone and the Herteractis crispa anemone. Even though these fish have been seen living in these anemones, it does not mean that all of them will have the same relationship in captivity. One must also remember that anemones have special requirements of their own which need to be met in order for the both the clownfish and the anemone to thrive.  I have not had experience keeping them with anemones.
Reef Tank Compatible: Yes – They can irritate some corals that they decide to take residence in but normally does not cause long-term damage.  A first, I noticed that they would make my Toadstool corals close up when they would dive into them but after a short while, the Toadstools were no longer bothered.
Notes: I have found these to be very hardy and easy to keep. I have kept these fish in my 75-gallon reef tank since March of 1998 until 2005.  They spent a year in my 12 gallon nano reef and in 2006 they were moved to my 90 gallon reef and have been there ever since.

They are good looking fish and have nice personalities. They are very bold when feeding and will always be the first at the top of the tank at feeding time. They are not shy and will bite the hair on my arms or my fingers whenever I work on the tank.  They even try to bite the little cup that use to pour the flake food into the tank.

I originally had four of these fish but one of them decided to carpet surf when I was working on the tank one night, so use caution with uncovered tanks.

They have taken residence in multiple corals including my Finger leather, Goniopora, Alveopora, and Toadstool leathers without causing any noticeable damage to any of the corals.  One of the most interesting characteristics of these fish is at night, when my finger coral closes, they will sleep inside with the fingers closed tightly around them like a fist.

The larger of the three lays eggs at least every few months for many years now and the other two take turns watching the eggs.  Sadly, the eggs become food for the other fish in the tank often before they hatch.

I originally wrote this article for ReefKeeping Online in 2007.
Filed Under: Corals

False Percula Clownfish

July 17, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Common Name: False Percula Clownfish
Scientific Name: Amphiprion ocellaris
Size: Between 2.5 – 4″
Origin: Indo-Pacific
Natural Habitat: Normally associates with hosts such as anemones. They will also take up residence in leather corals, Xenia and Goniopora. Can be territorial at times with other fish and their own species. It is not uncommon for these fish to reproduce in captivity.
Feeding Requirements: Various foods accepted: live & frozen brine shrimp, flake foods and other meaty type foods readily accepted.  They have lived, almost exclusively, since 1998 on flake food with brine shrimp or other frozen food as a treat once every few months.
Difficulty Rating:
(1 = easy – 5 = hard)		 1 – Very hardy. Great beginner’s fish.
Aggressiveness Rating:
(1 = shy – 5 = nasty)		 2 – Can be territorial and fight among their own species and other fish but usually cause no harm. They are protective of their own piece of reef and will protect it forcefully when a clutch of eggs are present.  I do not recommend adding them with other types of Clownfish.
Captive Requirements: Temperature range: 76 – 82° F. Specific gravity: 1.023-1.026. Can be kept singly, in pairs or in groups. I do not recommend adding additional Clownfish, of the same type, to the mix after the initial group is added to the tank. Does not require an anemone or surrogate host to thrive. Sheltered areas are not required but welcomed. Easily adapts to poor or degrading water quality, but this is not recommended for any fish.
Optional Requirements: Although not required these fish have been known to live in the safety of the Stichodactyla haddoni anemone, Stichodactyla gigantea anemone and the Herteractis crispa anemone. Even though these fish have been seen living in these anemones, it does not mean that all of them will have the same relationship in captivity. One must also remember that anemones have special requirements of their own which need to be met in order for the both the clownfish and the anemone to thrive.  I have not had experience keeping them with anemones.
Reef Tank Compatible: Yes – They can irritate some corals that they decide to take residence in but normally does not cause long-term damage.  A first, I noticed that they would make my Toadstool corals close up when they would dive into them but after a short while, the Toadstools were no longer bothered.
Notes: I have found these to be very hardy and easy to keep. I have kept these fish in my 75-gallon reef tank since March of 1998 until 2005.  They spent a year in my 12 gallon nano reef and in 2006 they were moved to my 90 gallon reef and have been there ever since.

They are good looking fish and have nice personalities. They are very bold when feeding and will always be the first at the top of the tank at feeding time. They are not shy and will bite the hair on my arms or my fingers whenever I work on the tank.  They even try to bite the little cup that use to pour the flake food into the tank.

I originally had four of these fish but one of them decided to carpet surf when I was working on the tank one night, so use caution with uncovered tanks.

They have taken residence in multiple corals including my Finger leather, Goniopora, Alveopora, and Toadstool leathers without causing any noticeable damage to any of the corals.  One of the most interesting characteristics of these fish is at night, when my finger coral closes, they will sleep inside with the fingers closed tightly around them like a fist.

The larger of the three lays eggs at least every few months for many years now and the other two take turns watching the eggs.  Sadly, the eggs become food for the other fish in the tank often before they hatch.

I originally wrote this article for ReefKeeping Online in 2007.
Filed Under: Saltwater Fish Tagged With: ,